Final Fantasy Friends Concert in Detroit

Jul 6th 2005

FINAL FANTASY: CLASSICAL MEETS VIRTUAL

Video Game Music to Score Big at The Max During Detroit Symphony Orchestra Concerts

DETROIT, (July 6, 2005) – The incredibly popular video game Final Fantasy will come to life as the virtual world meets the classical one when the Detroit Symphony Orchestra presents its first-ever concert of innovative and magical video game music at the Max M. Fisher Music Center. “Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy” concerts take place Saturday, July 23 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 24 at 8 p.m. Conductor Arnie Roth will lead the DSO joined by the Stoney Creek High School Chamber Singers and director Brandon Ulrich.
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is among the first American orchestras to present Final Fantasy concerts, following sold-out debut performances in Los Angeles and Chicago attended by young and enthusiastic audiences. The show employs 10-by-14-foot screens flown above the orchestra and used to display scenes from the games as well as images of the orchestra during the performance to create a music-video effect.
“Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy” features music from different generations of Final Fantasy, with music by Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu (no-BOO-oh ew-MOTT-sue). One of the most well-known, prolific and versatile composers in the video game music field, Uematsu had composed over 30 game titles and his music from Final Fantasy has grown to such popularity he was named one of Time magazine's “Innovators” in “Time 100: The Next Wave – Music” feature. To hear samples of the music from Final Fantasy, visit http://www.square-enix.com/na/index_f.html. The music is also available through Apple's iTunes music store.
First released in 1987, Final Fantasy introduced cinematic role-playing games or “RPGs” to millions of fans worldwide and has become one of the best-selling video game franchises ever, with more than 60 million units sold. The game series combines astounding visuals and dramatic musical scores with a compelling story as players take on a wide range of quests, from finding a magical crystal to bringing down an evil corporation of the future. The most recent installment in the series, Final Fantasy XI, released
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in April 2004, is the first online title, meaning players are connected to the same world via the Internet.
A crucial component of Final Fantasy is its music. For “gamers,” as video game fans are known, the music recalls epic story arcs of enemies defeated, spells cast and love lost and won. Uematsu's emotionally stirring music has changed the gaming experience, creating a venue for classical music to resonate with the next generation, while setting new standards for video game music.
Annual video game industry sales in the United States total over $10 billion, surpassing that of the Hollywood film industry. Final Fantasy music is currently available on America Online's [email protected] Network, featuring 200 tracks from the top-selling games, under the “Soundtracks & More” category on [email protected], [email protected] for Broadband and [email protected] This is the first-ever radio station on the AOL [email protected] Network dedicated to a single videogame franchise.
Tickets for “Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy" performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra range in price from $35 to $60. A limited number of box seats are available for $100. Tickets can be purchased at the Max M. Fisher Music Center Box Office (3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit) or by calling the DSO at (313) 576-5111. Tickets can be purchased online, 24-hours a day, via the DSO's Web site at www.detroitsymphony.com. For more information visit on the Final Fantasy American concert tour, visit the web site www.square-enix.com.

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